


The Day the War Was Lost

by agoldengalaxy



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Nightmares, Order 66 mention, give ahsoka tano a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoldengalaxy/pseuds/agoldengalaxy
Summary: Ezra wakes up very suddenly with seemingly no explanation. He has the Force to (sarcastically) thank for that.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 91





	The Day the War Was Lost

**Author's Note:**

> just finished season 2 of rebels!! decided I might as well combine with the clone wars arc bc I’m still not over it so here we go!
> 
> kudos/comments are always appreciated!

Things are rather quiet on the _Ghost_ , so Ezra isn’t quite sure why he wakes in cold sweat, sitting bolt upright in a panic on his bunk.

His eyes dart around the dark room as he tries to calm his racing heart, but there’s no danger. Beneath him, he can hear Zeb’s quiet snores and the warm blast of air coming from the newly repaired heater. He wonders if maybe he’d had a vision again, but that doesn’t make sense - he would remember it if he did.

Ezra takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He lets his eyelids flutter closed for a moment, attempting to ask the Force what it is trying to tell him. For now, it’s silent.

“Thanks,” he mumbles under his breath, moving to slide down the ladder quietly. No matter how much Kanan tells him to trust the Force, it’s certainly hard when it never seems to give any straight answers.

Walking quietly past Zeb, who always seems to sleep through everything, the door slides open for him and he slips out. Just as it was in his room, it’s completely silent in the hallway. Ezra thinks for a moment, contemplating just going back to sleep and forgetting it, figuring maybe he was finally losing his mind, but something tells him to keep going.

_Maybe it’s the Force,_ he thinks sarcastically to himself as he slowly walks down the hall. Strangely, the doors are open. Maybe Hera left them open to save fuel. Either way, Ezra stops before he can walk through them, because he hears hushed voices. Stopping at the wall, he hides himself enough to peek, seeing who’s there and what they might be talking about. It’s not eavesdropping if they don’t know, he tells himself. Besides, he can assume they’re the ones that woke him, so shouldn’t he have a right to know?

Just barely, he can see Ahsoka and Rex sitting together on the couch. A datapad, left forgotten on the table, is still lit. Rex is mumbling, but Ezra can’t see why until he hears Ahsoka’s quiet voice. “It’s okay, Rex. It’s okay. You’re dreaming.”

Ezra peeks a bit further out the door, noticing the old man’s head is on Ahsoka’s shoulder, and his eyes are squeezed shut tightly while he mumbles incoherently. She frowns, and for a moment, looks as though she might cry - but instead she takes one of his hands in her own, closing her eyes slowly. “I’m right here.”

Closing his own eyes, Ezra can _feel_ the calm she is sending through the Force, and when he opens them again he sees Rex can feel it too; his mumblings gradually come to a stop, and he soon falls still, still leaning against her.

Ahsoka opens her eyes and exhales shakily, squeezing Rex’s hand, then lets go to pick the datapad back up. To Ezra’s surprise, she lets out a breathy chuckle, looking over at the door. “Did we wake you?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, he smiles sheepishly, stepping out of his hiding place and into the room. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to listen in.”

Ahsoka smiles just a little, gesturing to a place on the couch beside her. “It’s alright. I understand. Your connection to the Force is a strong one.” Ezra nods and walks over to sit next to her. His gaze drifts to Rex for a moment before dropping towards the datapad in her hands.

“What’re you doing up this late?”

She waves a hand dismissively, glancing at the datapad before heaving a quiet sigh, placing it back down. “I couldn’t sleep. Rex and I figured we’d try and get some research done, but I guess he was more exhausted than he led me to believe.”

They both look down at the clone, who is mostly relaxed now, but his eyebrows are still furrowed. Ezra recognizes the deep shadows beneath the other’s eyes, and wonders if, every time they had found him up and going early in the morning, he’d gotten any sleep at all.

His heart hurts, because as much as Kanan and Rex argue, they know Rex is a good man. And being plagued by nightmares is not a fate Ezra would wish on anyone, let alone a man he’s really come to like.

“Is he okay?” he finds himself asking after a few moments of silence, dragging his gaze back up to Ahsoka, who slowly meets it. He’s sure he knows the answer already, but he figures he should ask anyway.

“He’s alright,” she says softly, almost in a whisper, giving Ezra a slight smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I just think that being back in the fight has brought back some...unpleasant memories for him.”

Ezra nods slightly, eyebrows furrowing. He remembers what little information Kanan had told him. “The chips.”

“The chips,” Ahsoka agrees with a nod, a distant look appearing in her eye as she stares blankly ahead. 

It seems that that was the day everything went wrong. That was the day the war was lost.

Ezra watches her for a long time, scooting a bit forward in his seat. “Ahsoka,” he asks hesitantly, “can you tell me what happened that day?” She looks at him, confusion and perhaps apprehension appearing on her features. He figures he should continue. “I want to know more so I can understand. I want to help you; I want to help _Kanan._ But he doesn’t tell me anything.”

To his surprise, Ahsoka smiles softly, placing a hand on his knee. “You’re already helping your Master more than you know,” she murmurs, leaning back a little as Rex lets out a quiet groan. She holds her breath, but he relaxes again, and she returns her gaze back to Ezra.

“You don’t have to,” he adds quietly. “I just…” he trails off. He doesn’t know enough. Kanan’s words are constantly echoing in his mind; that he wasn’t even born yet when the Clone War ended, so how could he know anything?

“I know, Ezra,” she sighs, dropping her gaze. She’s quiet for a moment, so Ezra moves to stand. 

He should probably leave them alone. “I’ll...give you some space.” As he’s walking towards the door, however, Ahsoka speaks up. 

“Every survivor’s experience was...different. Mine was with Rex.”

Ezra pauses, then slowly turns around to face them again. She’s looking at him, though the memory seems to make her expression so much sadder than normal - which is saying a lot. She always seems kind of sad to him, at least when she’s not angry.

“I was alone on a ship with my battalion of clones. They were my friends,” she continues as Ezra makes his way back to sit beside her. “And I felt this...this disturbance I’ve never felt before. I heard my Master screaming even though he was nowhere near me. And then…” she takes a shaky breath, raising her gaze to meet Ezra’s. “They turned on me. They accused me of treason against the Republic. And Rex…” she glances toward the man, blissfully unaware of the story, “he warned me. He was the only one who knew the truth. He fought off the effect of the chip as long as he could.”

Ezra blinks, staring wide-eyed at them both. That sounds terrifying. He can’t imagine his friends suddenly turning on him and having to fight for survival. He doesn’t think he could have the strength to look Zeb or Sabine in the eye and be able to fight them. “So what happened?” he whispered.

Ahsoka takes a deep breath. “There was an old hologram. One of the clones, Fives, figured out the chips existed years before, but they killed him before the truth could get out.” She shakes her head. “So when I figured it out, I knocked Rex out to remove his chip, and it was just the two of us against the entire battalion. We narrowly managed escape, but the ship crashed, and all of the clones that were once our friends, and Rex’s brothers...they were gone.”

A single tear rolls down her cheek, and Ezra feels his heart break. “Ahsoka, I am...I am so sorry,” he says finally, reaching to grab the cloth that Chopper left on the table to offer her. She lets out a breathy chuckle, taking it from him with quiet thanks.

“It’s in the past,” she says softly, dabbing at her left eye. “I’m just trying to make things right. I began fighting a war and I’m going to finish it.” She gently handed the cloth back to him. “I’m grateful Rex is back by my side, and I’m even more grateful that I’m not alone.”

Ezra scoots closer, placing his hand over hers. “You won’t ever be alone,” he promises firmly. “My crew, we’re like family. And they welcome you, and Rex, just as they welcomed me.”

Ahsoka smiles lightly, looking down at the hand over her own, before he pulls away. “And I really appreciate it.”

The boy is quiet for a moment, thinking over what she’d told him. She would have been close to his age when the chips were activated. The thought of going through all that makes him sick to his stomach - he thinks he can understand why Kanan used to be so apprehensive around the clones.

“Thank you,” he says finally, and they meet each other’s gaze once more. “You didn’t have to tell me, but you did.”

She gives him a quiet smile, and that’s when he notices how terrible she looks - her blue eyes are rimmed with red, and he has a feeling her slumped shoulders have nothing to do with the weight of her friend beside her. “It’s all right, Ezra. I’ve heard talking about it helps. And if it can make you feel like you can help Kanan, I’m glad I told you.”

Ezra nods a little, and he glances once more at Rex - it seems the old man is finally at peace. Looking back at Ahsoka, he smiles a little. “Get some rest. Your work can wait for a few hours. Won’t be any good against the Empire with no sleep.” She frowns, glancing at the datapad, then seems to relent, sighing a little.

“I guess you’re right.” The ghost of a smile appears on her lips, and she leans back a little, resting her head on top of Rex’s. He doesn’t move. Ezra sees her relax, her eyes fluttering closed. “Good night, Ezra Bridger.”

He smiles faintly. “Good night.” Moving quietly, he heads down the ladder to grab one of their extra blankets from the storage crates. When he returns, he drapes it gently over them, taking a step back.

Rex and Ahsoka have certainly been through a lot together. Ezra is happy they’re back together again, even if the circumstances are not ideal.

Before he leaves, he shuts off the lights, looking back at them once more. At peace. As they deserve. With that, he heads back to his own room, with intentions of reaching out to Kanan in the morning - to be there for him like he was for Ahsoka. Kanan doesn’t have a clone to rely on, but he has Ezra. 

He hopes he’s enough.


End file.
